


Morgan is Losing His Mind

by vikingjess



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alzheimer's Disease, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2019-03-01 23:03:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13305216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vikingjess/pseuds/vikingjess
Summary: Carol thinks something is wrong with Morgan's behavior and soon realizes Morgan suffers from Alzheimer's.





	Morgan is Losing His Mind

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to LOTR58 for her wonderful editing and encouragement with my first story.  
> I am not an expert on Alzheimer's, and I hope that this story doesn't offend anyone.

Carol relaxed on the couch in an abandoned cottage located near the survivor community, the Kingdom. She was engrossed in a book while enjoying the solitude the cottage offered her. Her only disturbances were the visits by Ezekiel. She was reflecting on these visits when she heard a knock at the front door. Cracking open the door, she found Morgan standing there staring at her. She looked at him quizzically, waiting for him to speak, but he just looked back at her with a blank, confused stare. He suddenly turned, walked through the gate, and headed towards the Kingdom.

“That was odd,” she mumbled to herself. She stood by the door for a minute thinking about Morgan’s actions. She shrugged her shoulders and returned to her book, but she couldn’t concentrate on reading at the moment. She thought more and more about her friend’s strange behavior. “Why did he not speak to me? He looked as if he didn’t recognize me.”

She decided to follow him, but by the time she reached the gravel road, he was gone. She decided to follow the same direction as Morgan. Quickly returning to the cottage for her knife, pistol, and backpack, she hurried down the road to the Kingdom. She didn’t encounter Morgan while walking to the Kingdom. She walked around the well-kept community looking for him, but still no sign of her stick-wielding, sometime nemesis friend. She asked around, but no one had seen Morgan. Deciding that she needed to speak with King Ezekiel, she was readily admitted to the auditorium that served as a throne room. Nodding to Jerry as she entered, she approached the king. Ezekiel did not have good news.

“Alas, Morgan often disappears from my kingdom, only to return in a days’ or weeks’ time.”

“But why?”

“I believe he seeks the solace that you, too, require,” Ezekiel replied, shrugging his shoulders.

“Yes, that sounds logical for Morgan. He is a bit of lone wolf.”

“However, he doth worry at times. He often forgets the names of people, including mine. The other day he asked where he was when we delivered our offering to the Saviors.”

Suddenly, a realization hit Carol like a ton of bricks. Suddenly feeling a bit faint, she fell into one of the deep theater chairs. She was so focused on her thoughts that should couldn’t hear Ezekiel calling her name. She had retreated into her mind, thinking about her Aunt Sophia who had succumbed to Alzheimer’s a few years before the dead started walking. She took care of her aunt, before Ed had put an end to it. Ed didn’t want to share her attention with anyone. She recollected how her aunt’s memory began to fade until she no longer remembered Carol or Sophia, her own namesake. Before Carol placed her into a nursing home, she started wandering, not knowing where she was or where she was going. It broke Carol’s heart. Now she realized that Morgan might be headed down the same hopeless path. Finally, Ezekiel’s operatic voice brought her back to the present.

She shared her fears with Ezekiel. “Do I tell him, Ezekiel? I could be wrong. If I am right, we need to take care of him. All of us.” Carol was never one to cry, but the thought of someone struggling with this horrible disease brought her to tears. The zombie apocalypse was no place for people with Alzheimer’s. She remembered thinking about Lizzie, and how there was no help available for her. She had to kill Lizzie out of kindness. She would not do that to Morgan. She could not do it.

“Perhaps we should look for him and tell him of your suspicions,” said the king.

“I agree, but it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I wish Daryl was here, so he could help us track Morgan.”

“Perhaps we should go to Alexandria and talk with…”

“No!” yelled Carol. “I am not ready to see any of them except for Daryl.”

“Well, my dearest, it is our duty to find our friend.”

The following morning, Carol and Ezekiel departed from the Kingdom in search of Morgan. They searched the woods nearby to no avail. After hours of searching, they decided to return to the Kingdom and begin looking again in the morning. The two friends left at dawn, intent on continuing the search for their friend. In the early afternoon, they spotted a still smoldering campfire. Carol felt a brief surge of hope at the thought that this could be Morgan’s fire and that he might be close. After scouring the area for any clue of his whereabouts, they finally spotted him in a small clearing. Carol called his name, and he stopped walking and turned around to face them. They walked towards him, but he began to spin his Aikido staff. Carol tried to calm him, but he began to move towards them, stealthily. Morgan was picking a fight, and Carol did the only thing she could think of doing. She raised her pistol and warned him to stop in his tracks. Her friend paused and stared at Carol and then gazed at Ezekiel.

“Carol? Ezekiel?”

“My friend, please put the staff down.”

Morgan cooperated but appeared terribly confused.

“Where am I?”

“I believe you took a lengthy walk in the woods and decided to camp for a few nights. We discovered your campfire nearby.”

 “I don’t remember any of this,” replied Morgan.

Carol approached Morgan and took his hand in hers.

“Morgan, do you know what day it is?

“It’s Monday.”

“No, it’s Friday. You’ve been gone 4 days.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Ezekiel has told me you disappear for days at a time. Why? Are you scavenging for the Kingdom?”

“I’m not sure,”

“He also told me you forget names of people and things.”

“Don’t we all forget things?”

Carol decided not to push the subject for the moment. They begged Morgan to return with them to the Kingdom. They arrived home late in the evening. Without saying a word, he made his way to his room, entering it and closing the door behind him without a backward glance, leaving his two friends standing in the hall. Ezekiel concentrated on the closed door for several minutes. He turned towards Carol and was silent. She could see he was choosing his words carefully.

“Ezekiel?” she whispers.

“Carol, I think you may be correct in your diagnosis. Perhaps I should post a guard at his door. We don’t want him wandering again."

“I will keep guard,” Carol replied.

“As you wish.”

Carol kept guard that night. Guard duty gave her time to think of a plan of action. If everyone worked together, they could all work together to take care of Morgan. If she could convince everyone to lend a hand to help watch over their friend, they could assist in trying to keep him from wandering straight into the jaws of a walker. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was fair to ask this of the community. Her mind continued to race until Morgan opened his door early in the morning and nearly tripped over her.

“Carol? What are you doing here? Have you been here all night?”

“I was making sure you didn’t wander away again. I need to speak with you, please. Let’s go sit outside in the morning air.”

Morgan willingly followed her. They sat outside in the courtyard. Neither one said a word for a few minutes. Morgan was the first to break the silence.

“I know what you’re are thinking, and you’re right. I believe I have Alzheimer’s. It’s progressing. A few of my family members died from it. I recognized the signs in myself. I am losing my mind, and I am terrified.”

“Morgan, I’ve been trying to come up with a plan. We could make a nursing home type atmosphere for you. Someone would care for you 24/7.”

“No, I don’t want to be a liability. Things are not peaceful. If they were, then maybe. But, trouble with the Saviors is coming, and you’ll need everyone to fight."

Carol knew he was right. If a war was imminent, every person would be needed. No one could be spared to care for Morgan.

“What will you do?”

“I have decided to leave.”

“When?”

“Soon.”

“Don’t do anything rash, Morgan. Let’s see if we can come up with a solution.”

In her mind, she knew a solution would not present itself. She wanted to appear confident for Morgan’s sake, though. Morgan looked at her and silently walked away. Pausing, he turned to look back over his shoulder at his friend, still sitting in the courtyard.

“Thank you.”

Carol took this to mean that he would wait before making a decision, but in the morning, she found a note from friend slid under her door. He had left. Carol let a few tears fall and prayed for Morgan. She hoped his journey would be a smooth one, but knew in her heart that this was a hopeless wish. Staying alive during the zombie apocalypse was challenging for anyone, but especially grim for people with a terminal illness.


End file.
